The use of a sump pump in the basement of a residence or other building is conventional for the purpose of avoiding flooding of the basement. Most sump pumps rely upon normally inactive, electrically driven motors to operate the pump in response to a predetermined rise in the level of water in the sump. In many instances, however, a storm or other condition which causes a rise in the water level also causes electrical power failure, thereby rendering the sump pump useless at the very time that the need for it is greatest.
Other sump pumps rely upon float-actuated valves in conjunction with magnetic devices for controlling the operation of the sump pump. Such magnetic devices, however, loose their magnetism over a period of time, thereby rendering them ineffective to actuate the sump pump when needed.
A sump pump constructed in accordance with the invention relies solely upon the flow of pressurized water, such as potable water provided by a municipality, thereby eliminating the need for reliance upon an electrical or any other external power source.